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Archive for September, 2013
More on Population Growth and Planetary Prospects
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 20th, 2013
New York Times: The Times has published several letters responding to “Overpopulation Is Not the Problem,” an Op-Ed article by the ecologist Erle C. Ellis (who expanded on that piece here). The first is from a trio of seasoned sustainability scholars, all of whom have been longtime contacts of mine: Joel E. Cohen, Daniel P. Schrag and William C. Clark, who are, respectively, a professor of populations at Rockefeller and Columbia Universities, director of the Harvard Center for the Environment and director of the...
The Best of the IPCC Climate Report Leaks
Posted by LiveScience: Becky Oskin on September 20th, 2013
LiveScience: With 800 volunteer reviewers, the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — the international body that assesses the state of the science on climate change — was bound to leak. The first full version of the draft report was posted online in December 2012 by a climate change skeptic who was part of the volunteer review army. Now, as the report's Sept. 27 release date nears, final drafts are circulating among journalists. This latest version of the IPCC's summary of...
Colorado floodwaters menace state’s $41 billion agriculture sector
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 20th, 2013
Reuters: Colorado farmers and ranchers are bracing for widespread damage to the agriculture industry, one of the state's leading economic engines, from deadly floodwaters that already have caused property losses estimated at nearly $2 billion.
The main concern is for the state's No. 1 cash crop, corn, which yields between 140 million and 180 million bushels annually, most of it for cattle feed, according to the growers' trade association, Colorado Corn.
Cornfields along the flooded South Platte River...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Colorado floodwaters menace state’s $41 billion agriculture sectorNew Australian Prime Ministers’ anti-environmental agenda
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 20th, 2013
Ecologist: In the first few days of his Premiership Tony Abbott announced the eradication of key environmental policies. Abbott wants to repeal both the carbon and mining taxes, abolish key green government bodies, and increase industrialisation along the Great Barrier Reef. UNESCO World Heritage committee have already warned the Australian government that further coal port expansion could put the Reef on the 'in danger' list.
Environmentalists are outraged at Abbott's plans to tackle climate change. Australian...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on New Australian Prime Ministers’ anti-environmental agendaAustralia: Cape York mining plan threatens world heritage bid
Posted by Guardian: Oliver Milman on September 20th, 2013
Guardian: A Queensland government plan to open up Cape York to development is "insane" and risks destroying landscapes that are currently being considered for world heritage listing, environmentalists claim.
The Cape York Statutory Regional Plan aims to "ensure the long-term viability" of the region through agriculture, mining and tourism.
The Queensland government said that plan, to be released next year, will balance environmental protection with opportunities for development.
However, the Wilderness...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Australia: Cape York mining plan threatens world heritage bidChina to shame worst-polluting cities over & over in push for green action
Posted by CNN: Ramy Inocencio and Feng Ke on September 20th, 2013
CNN: Let the naming and shaming begin.
China will start to point the finger at its top ten most air-polluted cities -- each and every month -- in the hopes that national humiliation will push positive environmental action. A parallel list of the nation's ten cities with best air qualities will also be published.
Beijing's political -- and very public -- pressure on its most polluted cities comes within a year of the capital reporting its worst air quality levels in recorded history and an Asian...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on China to shame worst-polluting cities over & over in push for green actionBangladesh: Could world’s ‘adaptation capital’ be slow adapting?
Posted by Reuters: Haseeb Md. Irfanullah on September 20th, 2013
Reuters: I am quite excited about the BBC's new Climate Asia Data Portal for two reasons.
First, it focuses on common people's perceptions of climate change. These perceptions may differ from formal sources or databases. These may be shaped by an individual's beliefs, education or media exposure. But such perceptions indeed matter in communication.
Second, the Bangladesh Report available on this portal quoted my country as "the adaptation capital of the world' -- one of the first mentions in a formal...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Bangladesh: Could world’s ‘adaptation capital’ be slow adapting?Ukraine region approves Chevron shale gas deal
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 20th, 2013
Reuters: Ukraine's government on Friday moved closer to a new shale gas deal for the country when a regional council approved its draft for a production-sharing agreement with U.S. energy company Chevron (CVX.N).
Deputies in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region had sent the draft back to the government a month ago, pressing for guarantees that the environment would be adequately protected during exploration and for a commitment to allocate 10 percent of any gas produced for local consumption.
Interfax...
After 140 years, red squirrels are fighting back
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 20th, 2013
Telegraph: Indigenous red squirrels were almost wiped out after greys were introduced from North America in the 19th century. The native species survived in only a few pockets in the north of England, the Isle of Wight and Scotland. The numbers were getting dangerously low because of a pox virus carried by the greys, similar to myxomatosis, along with the greys’ superior adaptability. However, a three-month study in 300 woodlands in the north of England has shown the number of red squirrels has risen by...
Antibacterial Products Promote Bacterial Resistance in US Waterways
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on September 19th, 2013
Nature World News: A popular synthetic antibacterial compound called triclosan is fueling the development of resistant bacteria in US waterways, according to research published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.
This study marks the first time triclosan resistance has been documented in a natural environment.
Triclosan is an ingredient found in a range consumer products, added to reduce or prevent bacterial contamination. Originally invented for use by surgeons in the 1960s, triclosan can now...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Antibacterial Products Promote Bacterial Resistance in US Waterways